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The Coordination Office for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage (KEK)
The substance of written cultural heritage is often endangered. The Koordinierungsstelle promotes their preservation and networks archives, libraries and museums nationwide.
A restoration project funded by the Koordinierungsstelle: The address book of the artist Hannah Höch in the Berlinische Galerie © Berlinische Galerie, Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Fotografie und Architektur, Hannah-Höch-Archiv / Kai-Annett Becker
The Koordinierungsstelle für die Bewahrung des schriftlichen Kulturguts (KEK) (Coordination Office for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage) promotes, coordinates and optimizes the preservation of written originals throughout Germany. At the same time, it connects and advises archives, libraries and museums nationwide. As a cross-state and cross-disciplinary body, it has created a unique network of experts.
The substance of many historical documents such as books, deeds and files is under threat. Objects made of paper or parchment become fragile over time and, in the worst case, could be lost forever. With its work, the KEK makes a significant contribution to safeguarding cultural memory.
The Koordinierungsstelle is funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM) (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media) and the Federal States via the Kulturstiftung der Länder (Cultural Foundation of the Federal States). It was established at the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) in August 2011. The KEK is supported by an advisory board made up of experts from the archive, library and restoration sectors. In its two funding lines, the BKM special program and the KEK model project funding, over a thousand projects with a total volume of almost 26 million euros were supported by 2024.
The theoretical and strategic working basis is the “Bundesweiten Handlungsempfehlungen" (Nationwide Recommendations for Action) (2015), the first comprehensive inventory of written cultural heritage in Germany. They provide a detailed assessment of damage and risks and outline an overall concept for safeguarding originals.
The establishment of the coordination office goes back to an initiative of German libraries and archives, which launched the “Allianz Schriftliches Kulturgut Erhalten” (Alliance for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage) in 2001. The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz was represented in this alliance by the Berlin State Library. With its memorandum “ZUKUNFT BEWAHREN” (Preserving the Future), published in 2009, the Allianz provided the main impetus for the creation of a national Coordination Office for the Preservation of Written Cultural Heritage.